Kittyhawk, Ben Carver, Monty Rhode, and Fes Worksare here for a heated discussion about the new Wacom Companion! We also get into talking about a Kickstarter alternative called “Patreon”, in which we bring on an impromptu guest, Amanda Lafrenais of the wonderful webcomic Love me Nice; as well as the erotica comic Titty Time on SlipShine – NSFW)

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Wacom’s Own Mobile Drawing Tablet: Cintiq Companion
Artists have been demanding it. Waited for it. And is it all that we wanted? Hope? … Expected?Source: The Slanted

Ever hear of Patreon?Curious if Ben or Kittyhawk may approve of or dismiss such a service. Especially in comparison to Kickstarter.http://www.patreon.com/

Panel: a new webcomics theme for WordPress
Those out there with a wordpress system might be interested in checking out the new kid on the block when it comes to webcomics themes. But likely not something to switch to if you already have something working for you.http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/panel-webcomics/

One of the most colorful comics I’ve seen online. This is a story about just how absurd a world of magic is, to a kid that has just had the veiled pulled away for him. Because if we just discovered world of spirits, ghosts, and magic… it would very pretty darn weird, right?

Though the absurdity is not merely with the paranormal elements. It’s quite possibly everyone else in this town. It’s hard to really explain this comic without talking about entire sequences, but this is a really fun and really colorful comic.

Notes:
Our next regular recording will be Tuesday, August 27 (?). We’ll be on a live Google+ Hangout starting at 8pm (?) Central Time . You can follow us on Twitter @thegeeklifetv with the hashtag #thegeeklivetv.

Amya is touted as a “high-fantasy graphic novel”. I had interviewed Savannah once, and learned that the comic is based partially off of a table-top role playing game she and her friends have played. Though I have to say that it doesn’t really show. There certainly is a heavier emphasis on drama and character development, versus “encounters” for dice-chucking. You really get a feel for the characters.

Though the story subject isn’t really my cup of tea, this can certainly be something for others to enjoy. The thing that gets me the most about this comic, is the art style. Yes, I’m not a big fan of non-color comics, but this is a fantastic mix of black & white line work with grayscale and some screen-tones. Beautiful artwork that makes me joyous when I see a colored peice of art, but also saddened that the color isn’t there for the rest of the comic.

Still, I think a lot of people that enjoy a more “high fantasy” style of story, would really enjoy this comic.

Quinn Nicks is just trying to find a good roommate, and Ellie Beuckingham is just trying to find a room. Yes, it’s a sort of “roomies” comics, with loads of relationship drama. Everyone has some sort of baggage, it seems. Though what many “roomie” type comics lack, are expressive, individual characters. This comic’s got ’em.

The writing is… well reading the comic feels a little hurried compared to some other comics I’ve been reading lately where things are a bit more stretched out. So you could say this comic does not linger too much. For a webcomic updating a couple times a week, it’s refreshing to read a story that progresses at a fair clip.

The art is interesting with it’s use of black lines and coloring, which is really what draw me into the comic. Though the full-body character proportions are… a bit off… to the point of me not being able to tell if it’s purposeful style or not. Still, the expressive characters are really keeping me in on this one. That and seeing the dynamics play out between the two main characters.

Recorded live at CONvergence 2013. You may have a great idea for some characters for a new comic or novel, but what good are they without a world to exist in? Save yourself some of the headache of continuity by planning some things ahead. Panelists: Lou Anders, Dana Baird, Adam Stemple, Tania Richter, Fes Works, Marty Farley.

So, with a drawing a day for six months, some people would like to know the list ahead of time. So, I give the stripped down version of each theme week.

But once this whole things starts, posts with more explanation, including suggestions, will be added. Links will be added to the official website (NoExcusesDraw.tumblr.com); as well as each line item on THIS page, so people can easily pick up and start at the beginning at any time!

Notes:
Our next regular recording will be Tuesday, August 13. We’ll be on a live Google+ Hangout starting at 8pm Central Time. You can follow us on Twitter @thegeeklifetv with the hashtag #thegeeklivetv.

Video releases

XBox 360 accessories won’t run on XBox One.

Apparently it took Seth McFarlane, the world’s biggest wise ass, and 33 years to get a science program onto prime-time network television.

Sony and Panasonic announced a joint venture to produce an optical disc with a 300GB storage capacity by the end of 2015.

Randall Munroe of xkcd creates the world’s largest cartoon with 3,099 panels (link)

A quick follow-up EpiCast to share the latest news about webfiction and the publishing industry, but especially to talk about… the Seventh Annual Web Serial Writing Month, which is almost upon us!

Hosts Kira (yours truly) and Michael begin with a varied selection of news items, including some serial premieres and finales, a new way a massive serial community is trying to help writers fund their work, and an upcoming convention for those in the indie publishing world.

From there we shift into WeSeWriMo Prepration mode, reminding everyone that Web Serial Writing Month is nearly here, with a deadline of August 1 for signing up (meaning you can register up to and including August 1, just to be clear). After explaining exactly what WeSeWriMo is, we then offer some incredibly useful tips, offered by past participants of the month-long writing challenge, on how to best ensure that you succeed without driving yourself crazy in the process.

An EpiCast first follows: a brief commentary plus an inspiring musical break (at least I think so) from me regarding battling the fears that can cripple writers no matter what their experience level. Finally we give our thanks one last time to the donors for last year’s fundraising drive, thank our participants and say our farewells as we gear up for the EpiGuide’s yearly marathon.

Once you’ve listened, hop on over to our Podbean site, the EpiGuide forum, or our new Webcast Beacon site (links below) to share your own thoughts on these topics and this episode.

Many thanks to everyone who helped out by submitting your recaps and news stories!

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation and interviews, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity and The Levelator for editing/post-recording fine-tuning, and Podbean for hosting. If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!